Article rack for drawers



Feb. 21, 1950 G. L. c. EARLE 2,498,402

ARTICLE RACK FOR DRAWERS Original Filed July 1, 1944 A 1 EM INVENTOR.Gum/v.1. 6. ARL

BY W 5 A TTORNEY Patented Feb. 21, 1950 .Gu n

L. C. Earle, Forest Hills, N. Y., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Earle Kitchen Unit Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Continuation of application Serial No.543,139, July 1, i944, This application March 14, 19.46,

Serial No. 654,278

6 Claims.

This invention relates to article racks and more specifically to racksfor bottles and the like. In an important specific aspect, the inventionrelates to bottle racks for refrigerator drawers.

This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 543,139,filed July 1, 1944, now abandoned.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel and improvedarticle rack for a drawer.

It is another object of this invention to provide improved means forsupporting a large number of bottles and the like, as, for example, indrawers for refrigerators or cabinets.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improved rackfor supporting bottles of varied sizes in such a way that they will notroll and knock against eachother.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved drawerstructure suitable for refrigerators or cabinets.

The improved rack for drawers in accordance with this invention isparticularly suitable for use in refrigerators of the set-back" type(such as those disclosed in Patent 2,312,326, issued March 2, 1943 toGuyon L. C. Earle) although it will be obvious from the descriptionbelow that the invention is capable of other uses. The presentinvention, in one of its more important specific aspects, relates to arefrigerator drawer which has novel means for supporting bottles,cartons or cans ofliquids adapted to be refrigerated. Such a drawer issuitable for use not only in a refrigerator of the set-back type butalso in other types of refrigerators or in cabinets employing drawers.

The above-mentioned and other objects are attained in accordance withthis invention by pro-- viding as an illustrative embodiment thereof arefrigerator drawer which has at the rear thereof near its back acorrugated member which is inclined so as to form an angle of from 30degrees to 60 degrees with the horizontal, an angle of about 45 degreesbeing preferred, the upper edge of this member merging into or beingfastened to a ledge member which extends between the sides of the drawerand is-positioned at a higher level than another ledge member at theback of the drawer. One or both of these ledgemembers can have groovesor corrugations therein, if desired.

Another inclined member extends from the bot tom of the first inclinedmember to the ledge member at the back of the drawer. A number of smallbottles, such as thosewhich contain cola drinks, soda, etc. have theirsides supported by the-first inclined member and their bottoms supportedby the second inclined member, the corrugations in the first inclinedmember preventing the bottles from rolling. A second row of smallbottles can be placed on top of the first. Larger bottles, such as thoseholding approximately-a quart, are adapted to have their lower portionssupported by the ledge at the rear of the drawer and their upperportions by the necks of the smaller bottles or by the first-mentionedledge member. The rack may be permanently fastened to the inside of thedrawer or be made removable; as desired. Various other objects andfeatures, some of them more or less ancillary to those alreadydescribed, will be apparent from the description which follows. 1' Theinvention will be more readily understood by referring to the followingdescription taken-in connection with the accompanying drawing forming apart thereof, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigeratoremploying one or more drawers, at least one of which contains an articlerack in accordance with the invention; I r

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a drawer con-f taining a rack inaccordance with the invention; Fig. 3 is a side cross-sectional view ofthe drawer of Fig. 2 showing how bottles: are sup-'- port-ed therein;and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional; view in a plane through the line 4-4 inFig.3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more specifically to; the drawing, Fig. 1 shows, byway ofexample for illustrative purposes, a refrigerator ll! of the set-backtype provided with a plurality of drawers, at least one of which has anarticle rack therein constructed in accordance with the invention. Therefrigerator Ill comprises an insulated upper refrigerated portion H aninsulated lower refrigerated portion [2, both portions being supportedby a recessed base it, and a table-top member M of any suitable materialsuch as, for example, porcelain, linoleum, stainless steelfor' Monelmetal. The upper portion ll containsarr evaporator E5 the coils of whichare adjacent-or surround one or more ice cube trays-- orj'foodcontainers such as the trays or containers [6,- H and 18. The upperportion also contains mes'h shelves I9, 20 and 2 l, the upper two ofwhich may" have portions cut out so that tall bottles can-beaccommodateon the lowest mesh shelf. Doors" 22- and 23 are provided as closure"members for,

the upper portion of the refrigeratorlll. a e The lower portion- I2comprises a suitable framework and a plurality of drawers 24, 25 and 26,These drawers may be, for example, of the type shown and described in acopending application of Guyon L. C. Earle, Serial No. 531,691, filedApril 19, 1944, now abandoned.

Fig. 2 shOWs in perspective one of the refrigerator drawers, as,'forexample, the lower drawer 26 which is preferably made deeper than theupper ones so as to accommodate large roasts and many bottles, jars,etc. This drawer contains a novel article rack 50 constructed inaccordance with the invention. The drawer 26 comprises an articlecontaining or inner drawer member 30 having side members 3! and 32, afront 33 (see Fig. 3), a back 34 and a bottom 35 which is preferablycorrugated or ridged to prevent liquids flowing from front to back andwhich rests on ledge 4| attached to the side members and on ledge 42attached to the back, The member 30 canbe formed "of any suitablematerial suchas, forexample, 20 or 22 gauge aluminum with aluminitefinish. A top lip 36 can be provided for the sides, front and back andthis lip is preferably wider at the front than at the sides and backsince it can be used to secure firmer attachment of the inner drawermember 30 to the drawer frontmember 31 which comprises an insulatinglayer 38 and a front portion 39 having a drawer handle 46. v

The article rack 50 comprises a first inclined member mounted at anangle of from 30 degrees to 60 degrees with the horizontal and which, byway of example, has been shown in Fig. 3 as having an inclination ofabout 45 degrees, a second inclined member 52 shown, for example, makingan angle of a little less than 90 degrees with the first inclined member5| and an angle of about 50 to 55 degrees with the horizontal, a frontledge member 53 and a rear ledge member 54. The inclined member 5| has amultiplicity of corrugations therein. These corrugations may extend fromtop to bottom or for only a portion of this distance. They may be curvedor have sharp angles. By way of example, each corrugation may comprise acurved surface one half inch across and one quarter inch deep. For adrawer 21 inches wide, for example, there are more than forty of thesecorrugations in the member 5| which are deep enough to keep the bottlesfrom rolling. At the same time, by having a large number ofcorrugations, the member 5| can accommodate a number of different sizedbottles without leaving big spaces in between. These corrugations alsoadd strength to the article rack. The member 5! supports the sides of arow of bottles and the bottoms of these bottles (or the upper portionsof the bottoms when the bottles are placed on the member 5|) aresupported by the member 52 which is preferably uncorrugated. It has beenfound that less rattling or rolling is produced if only the outer edgeof the bottom of each bottle (as shown in Fig. 3) contacts the member 52rather than the entire bottom. A second row of bottles can be supportedby the first row. These may be smaller than the bottles of the first rowor the same size. A preferred way of stacking is to place bottles of thetype bearing cola drinks in the lower row and bottles of beer (which areusually shorter and squattier than those of the cola beverages) in thesecond row. A third row may be placed on top of the second row, as shownin Fig. 3. This third row preferably includes bottles of large size suchas large ginger ale bottles and those containing fruit juices, wine,etc. The lower side of each of these bottles in the third row issupported by the ledge 54 which is preferably corrugated, as in themanner described above in connection with the member 5|, for example,and the upper part of these bottles is supported by the necks of thebottles in the lower two rows (as indicated in Fig. 3) or by the frontledge member 53 which is at a higher level than the ledge member 54 andwhich may be corrugated or not, as desired. If a bottle in the third rowis long, an open space is left between bottles in the first two rows andthe front of the long bottle can be supported by the ledge 53. If it isnot long enough (that is, if only the neck reaches the member 53 whenthe lower part is supported by the member 54, or if the first two rowsare full), the bottles in the third row can be'supported as shown inFig. 3 to keep them from sliding forwardly.

Preferably the members 5| 52, 53 and 54 are made so as to form one pieceto act as a catch basin for water dripping from the evaporator if thehousewife forgets to place the drip pan in position during defrosting.During defrosting the drip pan can rest on the ledge members 53 and 54by taking the bottles out of the way or the rack member 50 may be usedto catch the drip water. The drawer can be taken out to empty the wateror the rack member may be provided with side members 55 so that waterwill not leak out, in which event only the rack member 50 need be takenout and emptied. When the drawer is pulled out any of the bottles can beeasily lifted out. Obviously, cans or paper containers can be supportedby the rack of this invention as well as bottles. The rack can be fastened in place in the drawer or' be removably mounted therein. Bracketmembers 56 and 51 on v the back and sides ofthe drawer help support thearticle rack in position. The rack member takes up a Very small spaceconsidering the number of bottles it is capable of supporting (while ithas been shown as taking a third to a half of the drawer, it need not,andpreferably does not take this much room in long drawers) Ample roomis left in the front of the drawer fora 20 lb. turkey or one or moreroasts such as a leg of lamb, which can extend under the overhang of themember'5l. The lower drawer thus has enormous capacity. It will bereadily apparent that there has been described a rack member which issimple to construct and which, considering its simplicity,is capable ofsupporting a large number of articles. Moreover the rack can serve tocatchwater of de: frosting from the evaporator. By way of example, itneed take only about 6 inches of the rear of the drawer and holds 12 to18 bottles of various sizes neatly stacked so. thatthey wont rattle andso that they can be pulled out easily'as they are stacked on an angle.The front part of the drawer can hold as many as three roasts.

While there has been shown and particularly described certainembodiments of the invention for the purpose of explaining itsprinciples and showing its applications, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that many modifications and Variations are possibleand itis'therefore in;- tended to cover all such modifications andvariations as fall within the scope of the invention which isdefined inthe appended claims. In the claims the term bottles and the like isintended to include cans, cartons, etc.

What is claimed is: 1. A cabinet drawer including front,'back, bottomand side members and an article supporting member therein comprising afirst member, inclined with respect to the horizontal, for supportingthe sides of bottles and the like, saidfirst member having amultiplicity of corrugations therein running in a direction parallel tothe sides of the drawer, a second member, positioned to make an angle ofsubstantially 90 degrees with respect to said first member, forsupporting at least a portion of the lower part of each of said bottlesand the like, a substantially horizontal ledge member at the top of thesecond member and extending rearwardly towards said back member forsupporting the lower portions of other bottles and the like and a secondledge member at the top of the first inclined member and extendingforwardly thereof for supporting the upper portions of all those bottlesand the like whose lower portions are supported by said second ledgemember and whose upper portions are not supported by and between theupper portions of adjacent ones of said first-mentioned bottles and thelike, each of said ledge members having a multiplicity of corrugationstherein running in a direction parallel to the sides of the drawer.

2. A cabinet drawer including front, back, bottom and side members andan article supporting member therein comprising a first member, inclinedwith respect to the horizontal, for supporting the sides of bottles andthe like, said first member having a multiplicity of corrugationstherein running in a direction parallel to the sides of the drawer, asecond member, positioned to make an angle of substantially 90 degreeswith respect to said first member, for supporting at least a portion ofthe lower part of each of said bottles, and the like, a substantiallyhorizontal ledge member at the top of the second member and extendingrearwardly towards said back member for supporting the lower portions ofother bottles and the like, a second ledge member at the top of thefirst inclined member and extending forwardly thereof for supporting theupper portions of all those bottles and the like whose lower portionsare supported by said second ledge member and whose upper portions arenot supported by and between the upper portions of adjacent ones of saidfirst-mentioned bottles and the like, each of said ledge members havinga multiplicity of corrugations therein running in a direction parallelto the sides of the drawer, and bracket members on the back and sidemembers of said drawer for holding the article supporting member inposition therein.

3. A cabinet drawer including front, back, bottom and side members andan article supporting member therein comprising a first member, in-vcilned with respect to the horizontal, for supporting the sides ofbottles and the like, said first member having a multiplicity of raisedmeans for minimizing sidewise rolling of said bottles, a second memberinclined with respect to said first member for supporting at least aportion of the lower part of each of said bottles and thelike, asubstantially horizontal ledge member at the top of the second memberand extending rearwardly towards said back member for supporting thelower portions of other bottles and the like, and a second ledge memberat the top of the first inclined member and extending forwardly thereoffor supporting the upper portions of all those bottles and the likeWhose lower portions are supported by said second ledge member and whoseupper portions are not supported by and between the upper portions ofadjacent ones of said first-mentioned bottles and the like, at least A,cabin d aw r i clud' v. front, bac t tom and side members and an articlesupportin member thereinv comprising afirst member, inclinedwithdfismcttothe horizontal, for support.- ns sides of bo tles and. the like, saidfirst member having a multiplicity of raised means for minimizingsidewise rolling of said bottles, a second member inclined with respectto said first member for supporting-at least a portion of the lower partof each of said bottles and the like, a substantially horizontal ledgemember at the top of the second member and extending rearwardly towardssaid back member for supporting the lower portions of other bottles andthe like, a second ledge member at the top of the first inclined memberand extending forwardly thereof for supporting the upper portions of allthose bottles and the like whose lower portions are supported by saidsecond ledge member and whose upper portions are not supported by andbetween the upper portions of adjacent ones of said first-mentionedbottles and the like, at least one of said ledge members having amultiplicity of raised means for minimizing sidewise rolling of saidbottles, and bracket members on the back and side members of said drawerfor holding the article supporting member in position therein.

5. A cabinet drawer including front, back, bottom and side members andhaving positioned therein an article supporting member for bottles andthe like comprising a first, means positioned to support the sideportions of each of a group of bottles in a first row at an acute anglewith respect to the horizontal and so that the long dimension of eachbottle is substantially parallel to the side members of the drawer, saidfirst means having a multiplicity of raised means for minimizingsidewise rolling of said bottles, a second means positioned to supportthe bottom portions of said bottles, a third means at a higher levelthan said second means and positioned to support the bottom portions ofa group of bottles in a second row at an acuate angle with the bottlesof the first row, and a fourth means, also at a higher level than saidsecond means and displaced from said third means, for supporting theupper portions of those bottles in the second row which are at least aslong as the distance between said third and fourth means when saidlast-mentioned bottles are not supported by the upper portions of thebottles in the first row, at least one of said third and fourth meanshaving a multiplicity of raised means for minimizing sidewise rolling ofthe bottles in the second row.

6. A cabinet drawer including front, back, bottom and side members andhaving positioned therein an article supporting member for bottles andthe like comprising a first means positioned to support the sideportions of each of a group of bottles in a first row at an acute anglewith respect to the horizontal and so that the long dimension of eachbottle is substantially parallel to the side members of the drawer, saidfirst means having a multiplicity of raised means for minimizingsidewise rolling of said bottles, a second means positioned to supportthe bottom portions of said bottles, a third means at a higher levelthan said second means and positioned to support the bottom portions ofa group of bottles in a second row, at an acute angle with the bottlesof the first row and a fourth means, also at a higher level than saidsecond means arid displaced from said third means, for supportREFERENCES CITED mg'fthe upper portions of those bottles in Thefollowing references are of record in the second row which are at leastas long as the disfile of this patent.

tan'ce'between said third and fourth means when said last-mentionedbottles are not supported by 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS the upper portionsof the bottles in the first row, Number Name Date v each of said thirdand fourth means having a 71530 Pennie 1 67 multiplicity of raised meansfor minimizing side- 1,3495 e 1 2 wise rolling of the bottles in thesecond row. 1 9 3 56 Scioscia Se 11, 9

' GUYONL.C.EARLE. 10 p Q

